Feb 25, 2016
Court awards $212K in back wages to underpaid LA workers
Feb 25, 2016
The US District Court for Central California in LA ordered Vernon, CA based YN Apparel to pay $212,000 in back wages to 270 employees and subcontractors who were illegally underpaid.
Through overtime violations and minimum wage violations, the court found employees’ labor rights were violated for years, from 2011 through 2015.
YN Apparel is a primary supplier for Pleasanton, CA based Ross Stores, operating through 13 subcontractors and sewing shops in the LA areas. The court found YN failed to pay its employees the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and cheated employees out of overtime pay for work beyond 40 hours a week.
David Weil from the Department of Labor appeared in a press conference in LA and commented on the nature of the violation. Weil said, “low prices are driving this problem and creating this pressure at the bottom where the worker is and that tends to drive down the wages.” For YN to pay legal wages, it will drive up the price of clothing sold at off-price retailer Ross Stores by double, even triple the current price points.
As part of the judgment against YN, it is ordered to submit to “random unannounced site visits”, “review of the contractor’s time cards and payroll records,” and “private and confidential interviews of at least 20% of each contractor's current employees to determine the hours they work and the wages they are paid.”
The payment plan set out by the court has YN paying $26,000 a month until the total $212K is paid back, which will coincide with a final payment of back wages in May of this year.
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